I have been honored with another award!  This one–the Liebster Award–comes from Olivia Stocum of The Claymor and Surcoat blog.  As an Irish friend in Latvia would say, “You like me, you really like me!” The rules of this award are simple (but lengthy):  first, thank the person who honored me (Thank you, Olivia!), list  11 unknown facts about myself, and answer 11 questions. Then choose 11 nominees and give them 11 new questions to answer.  I will endeavor to abide by the rules, although I am known for cheating :)

11 Unknown Facts About Me:

1. My life is an open book (no, wait, you all already knew that)
2. I love cats (whoops! I think most of you have figured that out too)
3. I’m married (no surprise there!)
4. I have two graduate degrees:  one in English and one in Social Work (ok, now we’re getting somewhere)
5. My hair is not naturally straight (boring)
6. But it is naturally gray (boring)
7. My mom is one of 12 (makes for a lot of cousins)
8. I brake for turtles (and move them out of the road because they take forever to cross)
9. I once had a pet raccoon named Bartholomew (actually, he belonged to a boyfriend but we both raised him until he mysteriously died)
10. I drove a ’66 Dodge van cross-country in 1978 (totally out of character)
11. I like snakes (just not in my house)

Answer 11 Questions:

1. What’s your favorite vacation destination and why?  San Francisco, CA, because I used to live there.  It’s also where my husband and I met and started our life together.
2. What’s your favorite book? Book as in singular?  No can do.  I can’t pick just one.  I’ve enjoyed too many and they all speak to me in different ways, from Dickens’ Bleak House to Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones to Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake to George Eliot’s Middlemarch.
3. What do you like on pizza? Veggies with a little pesto sauce to taste
4. Do you have a favorite song? Again, singular?  Depends on my mood, but I can say that B.B. King is The Man ;)
5. If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money? Establish trusts for my grandniece and grandnephews; buy a home in the San Francisco Bay Area; and partition the rest to ensure that we can live comfortably for the rest of our lives (yes, I know, that was terribly boring)
6. What was your favorite pet?  Don’t tell the other cats, but it was Mikey, my orange kitty (RIP)
7. If you had a time machine, where would you go? I’d stay put.  If I go back in time, I’m afraid I’ll get marked as a witch.  If I go forward, my worst fears might be realized.
8. Do you wish I would stop asking so many questions? Now that you’ve mentioned it, yes :)
9. If you found a magic lamp and was given three wishes, what would they be?  Love, Happiness and Good Health for everyone
10. How many cups of coffee do you drink in one day? A 12-ounce mug during the work week, maybe twice that on weekends.  Most times I drink Earl Grey.
11. Where do you see yourself in ten years? Hopefully back on the West Coast.

Now for the 11 nominees:

http://agingabundantly.wordpress.com/

http://dupler.org/

http://dropsofink.com/

http://helenvalentina.com/

http://petitemagique.wordpress.com/

http://18yearsyoung.wordpress.com/

http://1writeplace.com/

http://jillweatherholt.wordpress.com/

http://todayschapter.wordpress.com/

http://kevinbrennanbooks.wordpress.com/

http://damyantiwrites.wordpress.com

11 Questions for the Nominees (if they choose to answer):

1. Are you a spy?
2. What has to happen for you to say you had a perfect writing day?
3. If you won a two-week all-expenses-paid trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
4. What do you enjoy most about blogging?
5. Do you have a master plan to take over the world?
6. Who do you think should inherit the earth and why?
7. If you had the funds to design your perfect writing space, what would it look like?
8. What is your favorite animal (wild or domesticated)?
9. Where did you hide the money?
10. Have you ever been in a witness protection program?
11. Do you think I’m crazy? (trick question)